I have some good news and bad news this week.  The good news is that my Alma Mater, St. John's Catholic School in Hot Springs, is getting a new principal, Angela Isaacs, who loves the Lord and the children she has taught in her years at St. John's.  Angela, along with her husband, Scott, and daughters Sarah and Hannah, are members of our parish. Her parents, Ron and Fran Boudreaux, are also faithful members of our parish.  The bad news is that Angela has resigned her position as Sacred Heart's CCD Coordinator.  She has done a wonderful job of helping our parishioners who have children and our teachers, to form our children in the ways of the Lord Jesus through our Catholic faith.  She will be sorely missed, and I thank her (and invite you to do the same) for her service to our parish.  We need to begin an immediate search to find a new CCD Coordinator.  There is a monthly stipend paid for this position.  If you, or someone you know, has some teaching and/or administrative experience in religious education, please call me at 209-2502 to find out more about this important position in our parish.  We will pray for Angela as she begins her new duties, and I ask for your prayers that we get a competent person to take her place for our parish children and young people.

It has been awhile since I talked about or wrote about our ongoing efforts to feed the hungry of our area through Jackson House in Hot Springs.  Firstly, the need is still great as many families struggle to make ends meet.  Secondly, we have more than a few role models in our parish as some consistently, and even weekly, bring non-perishable food items when they come to church on the weekends.  I pray they will inspire us, their fellow parishioners, to do the same. Finally, we have put little cartons outside the church on our food cages where you can put money instead of food items if you wish to do so or if this is easier for you.  The money will be spent by Jackson House to buy food at a place like the Rice Depot which stretches the dollar to buy the most food possible.  Jesus has a special love for the poor, and He calls on us to this same love.  The people at Jackson House continually thank us for our ongoing care for the poor.  I thank you as well.

It seems like almost every week, I have reason to extend special thanks for the time and effort that people put into an activity that benefited so many.  Such is the case this week, as I thank all who made the visit from the Catholic Musicians of St. Louis, an enjoyable and memorable experience.  Firstly, I thank Lynne Border for her work behind the scenes to organize so much of what happened, especially the overnight housing of the young people.  I thank those who opened their homes in hospitality to the young people.  Thanks to Bill Hurley and Mickey Townsend and all those helpers who put on such a wonderful dinner.  Finally, thanks to by brother Knights for preparing and serving a delicious breakfast for the musicians and their chaperons.  An adult from this musical group commented on how well the group had been welcomed and received by parishioners.   I merely affirmed to her how wonderful you all are to those who come to us as visitors.  God bless you all.  It was a great concert with lively, spiritual liturgies-because of the gifts of these young people and our participation with them.  I hope they return to us again.